Non-federal COVID-19 response (Executive Office of the Governor of Florida)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the Executive Office of the Governor of Florida of Florida.
Multi Request Non-federal COVID-19 response
Submitted April 23, 2020
Est. Completion None
Status
Fix Required
Tags

Communications

From: Emma North-Best

Subject: Florida Sunshine Law Request: Non-federal COVID-19 response (Executive Office of the Governor of Florida)

Email


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:

Memos, emails, letters, documents, reports, recorded phone calls and virtual meetings and other media discussing or describing COVID-19 response, shutdown and stay-at-home plans and orders, quarantines, and "re-opening" plans, as well as copies of discussions of COVID-19 with CDC, White House, FEMA or similar emergency management agencies, offices of Surgeons General and similar bodies, and management of medical facilities or organizations. This request excludes unsolicited messages from the public which received no response.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

From: Executive Office of the Governor of Florida

Subject: RE: Florida Sunshine Law Request: Non-federal COVID-19 response (Executive Office of the Governor of Florida)

Email

Hello,

Governor Ron DeSantis's Office of Open Government is in receipt of your request for records as stated in your email below. If there is a fee associated with your request, you will be provided with a fee estimate for your review.

Please note that the Open Government contact information for Governor Ron DeSantis's Office is DeSantis.OpenGov@eog.myflorida.com<mailto:DeSantis.OpenGov@eog.myflorida.com> or (850) 717-9248. The best way to get ahold of our office is to use one of those two methods of contact.

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of the Governor.

Sincerely,

Courtney Hendricks
Open Government Coordinator
Executive Office of the Governor
The Capitol, Suite 209
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 717-9248

Please note that Florida has a broad public records law and correspondence sent to me, which is not confidential or exempt pursuant to Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, is a public record made available upon request.

From: Executive Office of the Governor of Florida

Subject: Public Records Request - BEST 01-P

Email

Good afternoon,
This email is regarding your public records request for: "Memos, emails, letters, documents, reports, recorded phone calls and virtual meetings and other media discussing or describing COVID-19 response, shutdown and stay-at-home plans and orders, quarantines, and "re-opening" plans, as well as copies of discussions of COVID-19 with CDC, White House, FEMA or similar emergency management agencies, offices of Surgeons General and similar bodies, and management of medical facilities or organizations. This request excludes unsolicited messages from the public which received no response". A copy of your original request is also attached for your reference.

The Governor's Office of Open Government has received a significant number of public records requests concerning COVID-19. In an effort to compile records and fulfill all requests in the most efficient manner, the Office of Open Government has determined to run one broad search, waiving any fees that may typically apply.

Our initial search shows that correspondence to/from the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief of Staff Shane Strum, and Deputy Chief of Staff Adrian Lukis will produce approximately 20,000 pages of responsive documents, not including any potential redactions or exemptions. As such, the search our office is conducting with a waiver of fees is as follows:

* All communications (emails, text messages, letters, etc.) sent/received by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief of Staff Shane Strum, and Deputy Chief of Staff Adrian Lukis regarding coronavirus.
* Search terms: "coronavirus, "COVID-19"
* Timeframe: 12/1/2019-present
* Please note that this search will exclude emails and letters sent by constituents to the Governor's Office of Citizen Services.
If you would like to narrow your original public records request to the above, our office will refer you to the responsive documents as they become available, waiving associated fees. Our office will aim to produce these records on a rolling basis.

However, if you would like to continue with your public records request as written or broaden our office's search parameters, the Office of Open Government is happy to provide a cost estimate for the production, which may be significant. The Office of Open Government will work to provide such significant productions in a reasonable time, consistent with the size and complexity of the requests.

Please let our office know how you would like to proceed with your public records request. Please note, if we do not hear from you within 30 days, our office will consider your request closed. Should that occur, you would be welcome to re-submit your request at any time.

Thank you.

Alyson Stalnaker
Administrative Assistant
Executive Office of the Governor
Office of the General Counsel
(850) 717-9310

Please note that Florida has a broad public records law and correspondence sent to me, which is not confidential or exempt pursuant to Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, is a public record made available upon request.

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